Azariah Smith Root's Cane, detail
1 media/OBJ_0395b_photo_thumb.jpg 2020-11-12T20:02:44+00:00 Anne Cuyler Salsich, Oberlin College Archives 65340b1e79f9df03d291b8de171f6479ab6abb16 30 5 plain 2021-01-17T19:53:15+00:00 1884 ebony, gold plated metal, brass 20160504 094257 Oberlin College Archives canes (walking sticks) The photographs provided here by the Oberlin College Archives for the College Library server may be downloaded for one-time personal or classroom use, if not for financial gain. For all other users of Archives' photographs--including reproduction in a brochure, scholarly article or book, or other publication purchase (digital or otherwise)--users must seek permission from the Oberlin College Archives, 420 Mudd Center, Oberlin, Ohio 44074 (telephone 440-775-8014). Archives URL: https://https://libraries.oberlin.edu/archives. Images from the Oberlin College Archives are protected by U.S. Copyright law. OBJ0395 Anne Cuyler Salsich, Oberlin College Archives 65340b1e79f9df03d291b8de171f6479ab6abb16This page is referenced by:
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Azariah Smith Root's Cane
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A hand-tinted photographic image of Azariah Smith Root (1862-1927), graduate of the class of 1884 and Oberlin College's first librarian, is embedded in the metal band around this ebony walking stick or cane. The inscription on the gold plated head indicates that the stick was given to him on June 25, 1884, presumably Root's graduation day. The oval mount for the photograph on the cane originally had a hinged cover. The image has been exposed to the elements for some time, but remains a clear portrait of the young Root.
Title/Subject: Azariah Smith Root's cane
Date: 1884
Type: cane (walking stick)
Medium: ebony, gold plated metal, brass
Format: 33" l x 1" w
Collection: Objects Collection (RG 35)
Root went on to attain a Master of Arts at Oberlin in 1887. That year he was appointed the College's librarian at the age of 25. He served in that position for 40 years, until his death in 1927. Root was instrumental in making the Oberlin College Library one of the largest college libraries in the United States. He was a part-time member of the faculty at Western Reserve University's Library School from its inception in 1904 until his death. He also lectured at other library schools, including Columbia, the University of Michigan, and Pratt Institute. During 1916-17 he was acting head of the New York Public Library School. He was a scholar in the history of printing. In 1898-99 he studied Grolier bindings and Costeriana in Germany, and took courses at the University of Gottingen. He learned Dutch and used the summer of 1926 to research archives in Haarlem.
There is a long history of the cane as an accessory for the well-dressed man. This particular stick is clearly decorative as well as functional. It is thirty-three inches tall, giving a clue as to Root's height--he was not a tall man by modern standards. As stated in the finding guide for the Azariah Smith Root Papers, Root was a campus leader and the quintessential man-about-town. He pursued a wide range of social, political and religious interests both for the College and the community. In 1893 Root helped to found the Anti-Saloon League, along with Howard Hyde Russell (1855-1926, B.D. 1888, D.D. 1921).
It is a tradition of the Oberlin College Library to ceremoniously confer Root's cane to each successive library director for use at the College. For some years the ferrule or protective tip of the cane was missing. In 2016-17 the Intermuseum Conservation Association fabricated a new one of brass, and designed and built a case for the Library's historic object. The case complements the oak interior trim of the Brutalist Main Library (1974).
Sources
Archives Art Files.
Azariah Smith Root Papers (RG 30/57).
Archives Museum Collection (digital).
Related Collections
Oberlin College Library Records (RG 16)